Improvement in water-wheel governors



N. M. DIB BLE. Water-Wheel Governor.

Patented Sept. 23, 1879.

INVENTOR WITNESSES ATTORNEYS.

N.PETERS. PHOTO-LITMOGRAFNE UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE NATHAN M. DIBBLE, OF BIRMINGHAM, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO HIM- SELF AND LUCAS A. DOLPH, O-F SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN WATER-WHEEL GOVERNORS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 219,923, dated September 23, 1879; application filed June 24, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NATHAN M. DIBBLE, of Birmingham, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and Improved Water-Wheel Governor, of which the following is a specification.

The invention consists in combining with a speedgovernor for water-wheels a pivoted arm connected with the gate-stem and fittedto act upon the sliding shaft of governor; also in combining, with wheel-stem, shaft, and balls, a lever, nut, and bearing-block, as hereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a sectional elevation of a water-wheel governor fitted with my improved safety device. Fig. 2 is a top viewof the gate-stem and connections thereto.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

The governor shown 'is -a well-known form of the centrifugal typel A is the case containing the gearing. b is a vertical shaft revolved continuously by'connections with the power, and fitted for endwise movement by the governor-balls C.' .d d are bevel-gears loose upon shaft 1) and meshing with a gear, 6, that is keyed n the horizontal shaft f. g is the gate-stem, operated by worm-gearing from shaft f.

Projecting from the shaft b between the bevel-gears d are pins or lugs, which cause the movement of one or the other of gears d by contact with pins or lugs on the gears, according as the shaft 11 is raised or lowered by the balls 0, and thereby open or close the gate. In an intermediate position the pins escape contact with either gear, and the gate remains stationary.

Upon a standard, h,is hung an arm or lever, i, one end of which is fitted with a pivoted nut, k, that is upon a threaded extension of the gate-stem g, and the other end extends over the upper end of the governor-shaft b. In this end is fitted an adjustable bearingblock, I, that is formed as a step so as to bear on the end of shaft b, while the latter is revolv ing, without unnecessary friction.

The operation is asfollows. When the wheel runs below its working speed the balls cause the vertical shaft to rise, and the gate is opened by the mechanism of the governoras described, until, by increased speed, the balls move out and the shaft 12 is moved to the intermediate positiomor by an increase of'speed above the normal point the gate is closed by reverse action. The arm '5 is to be adjusted by moving the nut 70 on the stem 9 or the block lin the arm, so that when the gate is open to the greatest extent desired, which point may be more or less short of full-gate, the end of arm i above shaftwill have moved downward far enough to cause the disengagement of shaft 1) from the upper gear, I). By these means, if the speedof the wheel be checked when the gate is fully open the shaft -i cannot rise to cause farther opening of the gate, or if while the gate is being opened by the governor the speed is not increased the block 1 will bear on shaft 1), and by forcing the same downward stop the opening of the gate at the proper point. I i

I do not limit myself to the construction exactly as described and shown, asthe safety device may be applied to other forms of governors and to gates that open by arevolving or a sliding movement.

It will be understood that the safety device does not interfere with the ordinary-action of the governor, and is only operative under the exceptional circumstances named to prevent injury and maintain the proper relative position of the gate and sliding shaft b.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In combination with a speed-governor for water-wheels, the pivoted arm or lever 6, connected with the gate-stem and fitted for operating upon the sliding shaft b of the governor, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

2. In a water-wheel governor, the combination, with the-wheel-stem g, shaft b, and balls c, of the lever i, nut 7c, and bearing-block l, substantially as described and shown, and for the purposes set forth.

NATHAN MINOR DIBBLE.

Witnesses THos. S. BIRDSEYE, S. E. DowNs. 

